Freedom to Protest

I have been hearing a lot of argument against Obama lately for not speaking out more strongly against the Iran elections/Ahmadinejad’s “win” and I think the naysayers are wrong. Actually, I KNOW they are wrong. The battle is not for Obama or any foreign administration to fight. It is the Iranian’s battle, and we must allow them their Freedom to Protest and handle it as they see fit. These are the reasons why other countries have taken so much issue with America in the past. We cannot police the world, and most of them don’t even want us to. We all have to fight our own battles for freedom, for our rights- Obama getting in the middle and showing support for either side will only backfire once things settle down. Ahmadinejad would promote himself as the strong opposition to Western domination, and the real argument between he and Mousavi would be lost. Not to mention, Mousavi would need to take a hard line against Obama in order to keep his supporters happy. Neither would be friendly once the election protests end.

Iranians are exercising their Right to Protest and we can support them as a people as best we can, but we cannot ask our President to step into yet ANOTHER country’s mess. At the end of the day he must let this play out to show a difference between he and his predecessors. He must let it play out for the sake of OUR future and any future negotiation with Iran. Unlike Bush, Obama is wise enough to know when to keep his mouth shut.

Freedom to Vote

Today’s events bring me to a clear topic for my next Freedom Blog- Freedom of Choice. Specifically in this blog, the Freedom to Vote and have those votes accurately tallied so the wishes of the people are made clear and are honored. Iran’s election results are clearly confusing and unrealistic to the Iranian public that has taken their cause to the streets and online to Twitter. It is not shocking for the incumbent government, networks and foreign entities to want to remain pragmatically silent on the issue, but you cannot ignore the concerns of the people. Maybe Ahmadinejad and Bush are not the same people, but if the concerns are ignored the results are just about the same, and maybe a little worse.

Bush lost the popular vote, period. There can be no argument on that count, it has been acknowledged and explained away many a time. However, the clear disregard for that fact and the manner in which the situation was handled led to feelings of resentment, disenfranchisement and the overall rejection of the Republican party by the time his terms were completed. Now, I’m not proclaiming to know what the end result of today’s Iranian elections will be- but let’s take a glance at two possible scenario:

Option 1: Everyone goes home unhappy, complains about the election results for the next X years, and eventually returns to the polls in droves to ensure that the voice of the people is heard.

Option 2: Everyone goes home unhappy, yet returns every day following to express their discontent. After repeated calls for Ahmadinejad to step down from office, a “brave” soul take “justice” into his/her hands and forcibly removes the sitting President.

Now, neither of these options are the most preferred as we would all rather have our votes properly counted and applied. If given a choice, option two is the most direct approach to ensuring the people’s voice is heard. The opportunity is given to both sides, one to express their discontent and the other to correct it in a timely manner. There are times when the wishes of the general public are not what’s best for everyone, but when it comes to electing our leaders and who will speak for us there is no doubt that Democracy must reign. When the people call for change, their voices must be heard and answered. One definition of slavery is “A condition of subjection or submission characterized by lack of freedom of action or of will.” We must encourage our freedoms at every turn, or live our lives as slaves to the will of others.

Remember… that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of Liberty — that slavery will be your portion, and that of your [future generations], if you do not [free] yourselves like men.” -George Washington